Super Bowl XLVIII - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Hey Y'all It's your favorite SportsGal89 INNNNNNNNNN the Buildin'! I come to you with a heavy heart. On February 2, 2014 Super Bowl 48 cam and went and with it ended the 2013-2014 NFL season and with it goes my favorite fan glory days until May 8th with the NFL Draft and August when the preseason begins.

If you don't know, I LOVE sports, but I looooooooooooooovvvvveeeeee me some NFL. There is something about that sport that literally gets my blood going and really excites me, that I don't get from other sports that I watch. Regardless of what team is playing, I can scream as if I am a fan of that team. But I digress, we are here to recap the Super Bowl, which by now has probably been dissected in several different ways, but you now get to hear from one of the best ;)

So, Saturday I posted my predictions regarding the Super Bowl-- Not to toot my own horn, but toot toot! I was on point with my predictions!

The recap.... In what could be considered the biggest blowout in this decade the Seattle Seahawks provided a butt whoopin' of the Denver Broncos beating them 43-8. WHAT?!

When I was thinking about this post I was trying to figure out if there would be any highlights to share about the Broncos. You know most often when you recap you are playing the top 5 plays of the game, and in this game those top 5 plays literally come from the Seahawks on all sides of the ball.

But let's start- THE GOOD:

When I wrote my post I predicted the following- 

When you add it up, what the teams have to compensate for, lean more towards the Broncos having to do more work with their defense than the Seahawks having to improve in any specific areas.

And I was right. If you read further in my blog, I noted that the Seahawks have played with a different style than the traditional NFL. The entire season and these last two weeks, the conversations have been experience over youth. The Seahawks are a young team, with a young QB and Pete Carroll as their coach. They were not good enough to be the best in the west... blah blah blah. But it this non-traditional play that makes them a force to be reckoned with.

While I gave the Broncos areas of strength- Peyton Manning and his offensive options, I knew that the Broncos overall would have to compensate for more to even up the competition then the Seahawks would. Yes, the Broncos had the number one offense, but the Seahawks had a QB who can be their biggest strength and at times their biggest offensive weapon.

Furthermore, let's talk Defense. When you match Defense to Defense, you know Seattle has it. As much as I would have loved for Champ Bailey to get a ring, his defense is not enough to play the speed that is the Seahawks Offense. Sure as heck was not the case when they left more than 30 pts on the board (a few of those points came off of defensive plays).

Another Good- which should actually be called GREAT was Bruno Mars' performance.

People have been knocking Bruno as the halftime show since it was announced. But I stood strong in knowing that he would not disappoint. If you have not yet listened to Unorthodox Jukebox, you need to! That album is amazing and really straddles various genres and artists.

For me Bruno did not disappoint. What disappointed me was the little faith the rest of the Super Bowl fans and those who don't know Bruno had in him. I wasn't all too excited about the special guest appearance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, because it left doubt in my mind that the halftime show couldn't stand alone with Bruno alone. The performance though was seamless and the two artist/groups did amazing.



THE BAD:
 Besides the game, what viewers tune in for are the commercials. And let's just say the commercials this year were lacking. I learned something however, this year. Apparently, the commercials that air in particular areas are based on marketing strategies. So for some reason, in DC at least- the Super Bowl Commercials were what I called #TheYearofTheCar! every commercial was about a car. I think the only "normal" commercial was the M&M commercial-- and can we talk about how Yellow M&M is not the same voice it has been for a while.

THE UGLY:
Unfortunately- all around Denver! The first snap that Peyton got and really the first play to start the game results in a Safety. 12 seconds in! and then it just went down hill from there. Where I disagree with commentary is that people put a lot on Peyton to control the pace of the game. The reality is that Seattle's Defense was just better at reading the ball, INT throughout the game. Pressure and not allowing many 3rd down conversions. The Broncos were not even able to get into field goal position for much of the game.

There came a point when I tweeted the following:
 I know what happened... #Eli made a wish that HE was playing in the #SuperBowl#FreakyFriday #SportsGeek

What I had predicted in terms of the excitement of this game fell short--- "to say that this game is not going to be fun is an UNDERSTATEMENT! This game is going to take the cake, I hope, in all things Superbowl. "

This game was a dud. One team came to show up and even though I anticipated that the Broncos were going to lose, I didn't know they were going to lay down and die the way they did. For a large part of the game, I was getting frustrated EVERY time the Seahawks scored and I was rooting for them! There was even a point that the group I was watching the game with began fact checking the last time a Superbowl resulted in such a wide margin. Then we started fact checking if a Superbowl had ever ended with a team not scoring. There was a HUGE sigh of relief in my group when the Broncos finally put some points up. But by that point we knew the game was over and it wouldn't have made that much of a difference anyway.


 Additionally, the Ugly consisted of commentary following one commercial that wasn't about Cars- Coke produced the following commercial

A lot of people following the commercial tweeted and posted the most disgusting and absurd comments regarding the commercial. Statements like " Hey coke- you're in America, we speak English. Everyone RT drink Pepsi."

To "Well... I won't be drinking #coke anymore. We speak English in the #USA. Get over it."

Um, for anyone who watched this commercial and felt the sentiments above, you have misjudged and MISSED the point of the commercial. This commercial accurate depicts how beautiful America is because of it's diversity. I think it was a brilliant display and unfortunately instead of being celebrated, those of us who are marginalized or saw the value in the commercial are sadly reminded how ignorant many of us still really are.

So at the end of the day, how did Superbowl 48 match up? To be honest, completely uneventful. I will be happy when May gets here and a new season can begin, because the big Superbowl game for me was the NFC Championship. This "real" Superbowl left me wanting more...

That's all she wrote folks... While football season might be over, I am a sports fan in general so stick around and keep up with my posts.

It comes down to this- THE BIG GAME

(edited 2/1/2014)

Hey Y'all, it's your favorite Sportsgal89 Innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn the Buildin'! I've given myself a little distance to write this post because I hope this is going to be the best post yet! ANNNNNND I hope that this will actually be the most interesting post. ANNNNNNND I know that this post is going to be the most confusing!

Why? We are talking about the Super Bowl. So let's chat for a second. If you have been watching the coverage as I have then you know the basics. It's been a while since the number one teams in both divisions have faced each other in the big game! Not only that but you literally have the best offense against the best defense, Legion of Boom or LOB, as Richard Sherman so eloquently disclosed when the Seahawks won against San Francisco two weeks ago.

To say that this game is not going to be fun is an UNDERSTATEMENT! This game is going to take the cake, I hope, in all things Superbowl. And let's face it, the excitement of last year's Superbowl was that two brothers faced each other. We haven't really had games in the Superbowl that have kept you on your feet aside from the Justin Tuck Helmet Grab against the Patriots or the Santonio Holmes toes in catch against Arizona. The memories of interesting and exciting games has definitely come few and far between.

So with the younger, Seahawks offense- which I attribute to Pete's experience in College Ball at USC. You had to build excitement and he hasn't lost that energy entering the NFL. Against Peyton Manning and his offense, which is truly having the best year ever! Peyton by far is playing his best season and when you think about the offense that he has and how he really has diversity in who he can use, it is remarkable.

So what about the game, how will it pan out and what is my prediction? I have been asked that latter piece for two weeks. I have been avoiding it and I think I am still going to make y'all wait. There is something invigorating about having two teams who did not end the regular season undefeated. I am glad that they didn't. It is clear that for both teams that they have really treated this season as a one game at a time type thing. And the reality is you have to. When you prepare that way, you do the best that you can do each and every time.

So how do these teams match up against each other?

Seahawks- I feel that the Seahawks offense compared to the Broncos has been somewhat predictable. Shocking I know, when  their biggest strength is the mobile Wilson. What that kid can do outside of the pocket is amazing, he can extend plays he is able to run the ball, make moves that push his receivers out and connect in ways that are just crazy. The crazy part is he's only in his second season and he's learned that much.

When you add to Wilson the ability of Marshawn Lynch (can anyone explain to me why that dude doesn't at all seem excited to be in the Super Bowl? Have you seen his 30 second shorts that we call interviews? HA, I have never seen anyone so disinterested in playing in the biggest game of his career), the key to that offense, the offense is virtually unstoppable. With a healthy Percy Harvin returning for the Big Game, the Seahawks Offense will be a source to be reckoned with. Broncos D is going to need to blitz and blitz often. They will have to play more man to man and be about speed and perfect timing against this Seahawks offense.

Their Defense- Legion of Boom, the NUMBER 1 Defense is going to play and they are going to play very well. With the smoke settling from the Sherman adrenaline rush, I think he and the defense have had time to focus and treat this game as just the next game. They often say that it's defense that wins games, and while that might have been true against SF and the last play with Sherman and Crabtree, it will likely not be the same outcome against the Broncos. Their defense has been strong, but they haven't faced a QB quite as poised as Peyton Manning.


Broncos- Ace in the hole.. The Unpredictable offense. Peyton might be one of the best skilled QBs we have seen. He is the first QB to enter a Superbowl with two different teams. He has had one of the best seasons. His worst game was against NE early in the season when he only had 150 yds. He averaged 300 yds per game this season outside of that. And this entire season he has thrown only 10 INT. Peyton is one QB that you like watching even when he messes up, because he stays with it.
He still plays and he still plays well.

But I digress, why do I call their offense unpredictable? Because Peyton has so many targets! Peyton has many options when it comes to his WRs and RBs that he can change it up and still make amazing plays. Welker, Decker, Thomas, Moreno, Holliday- you have running and passing. Ugh I just get excited thinking about it. With Marshawn Lynch, Seattle has gas when he gets turned up, but the flexibility to look anywhere on the field and have someone to throw it to--- ooo weeee!  I look forward to watching Peyton command his offense and it will be interesting to see how the offense responds to the Seattle Defense. If Peyton and the Offense can figure out ways to fluster the D, they will control the larger part of the game.


Defense- Looking at their last game, the Bronco Defense held New England to 3 points for the first 3 quarters. But the 4th Quarter they let Brady be Brady and the Broncos gave up 13 points. If the Broncos can start and finish the game like they started the Patriots game, they have less of a curve to deal with. But the Broncos are going to have to bring something. While Peyton might be the stronger QB, Wilson cannot be forgotten. Wilson is a captivating QB, his out of pocket skills are ridiculous, he is a mobile QB. They haven't really seen a QB like him, maybe RGIII was the closest they had this season, but they will really need to prepare for Wilson in order to dominate that game.


When you add it up, what the teams have to compensate for, lean more towards the Broncos having to do more work with their defense than the Seahawks having to improve in any specific areas.

But I still haven't said who will win! I have been avoiding that question. Every day since the teams were decided I have been weighing the options. Each day I come up with a different decision. So even now I want to avoid answering the question. I want my cop-out answer to be "It can be anyone's game," because the reality is it really can. But life is about making decisions. So why is this a tough one,  because the honest part is while I think this game is Peyton's and the Broncos, I will not be surprised if the Seahawks pull off the upset.

At the end of the day someone has to lose and someone has to win. Ugh! Why do I have to pick! This is by far going to be the best game we have seen in years with the two greats going up against each other. Where one team has a weakness another team has strength and vice versa.

So with that, the decision has been made. I'm calling this game in favor of the Seahawks.(You have no idea how much it actually pains me to say that. As a young girl, my family lived in Denver and my memory was sitting in front of a tv at like 3-4 years old and telling my dad the Broncos could still win, even though they had definitely lost. I loved John Elway and still do, to the point that I saw him out at a restaurant for dinner one night and when I say saw him out, he was at the table right next to me and I punched my friend as I "fangirled"  about him. That despite my being a #Steelers fan, I have a soft spot for the Broncos and was probably just as thrilled as true Broncos fans when Peyton was signed) But, the Seahawks have just been on this interesting trajectory that has been part luck and honestly part skill. The speed to which they play this game, freaks me out when I see it in the NFL, because it is too wild- College Ball, duh! Pete, is definitely changing the way this game is played. I like the flair. I find it interesting that in the age of bringing up college coaches into head coaching positions that he's been one coach that hasn't necessarily changed his game or style of coaching to adapt to what is "traditional" in the NFL.

But it's that wildness that makes it hard to discount the Seahawks as a likely champion.

Now will I be disappointed if I get this prediction wrong? No, because at the end of the day, two of this season's best teams played one heck of a game and it will be one for the ages to witness.

That's all she wrote folks... See you Monday!!